Chan Lowe: State of the Union Address

cartoon by Chan Lowe, South Florida Sun Sentinel

State of the Union address

State of the Union address

Chan Lowe

The State of the Union is one of the great set-piece pageants in the political life of a democracy. The leader of one branch of our tripartite government, the president, comes as a guest to the chamber of another branch, joined by representatives of the third. Meanwhile, average citizens can eavesdrop, if they so choose, on what amounts to an annual pep talk required by the U.S. Constitution.

The strict rules of the booster rally, if you will, call for the president to utter phrases designed to inspire one side of the chamber to demonstrate its approval by applauding, or to show even greater enthusiasm by jumping to its feet in an ovation. The other side sits on its hands, occasionally uttering a few boos or whistles if it holds the chief executive in particularly low esteem.

These frequent and prolonged interruptions make for a jerky and halting oration that tries the patience of all listeners. It is appropriate, though, that a nation whose favorite sport is American football (rather than the soccer preferred by the rest of humanity), should develop a governmental tradition structured by short plays interspersed with a lot of time-outs.

Let us not forget the gallery, which is peppered with individuals who act as human props to illustrate some point the president is making, to which no one is really listening. The importance of the issue they personify can be gauged by their proximity to the First Lady, whose attire is usually of greater significance, and subject to more acute media analysis, than the substance of the president’s words.

Afterward, there is a rebuttal by the party to which the president doesn’t belong. This is the only place where news is made — because its slapdash production values, compared to the highly controlled environment of the SOTU, allow for some hilarious human error. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s amateurish performance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s infamous water bottle reach come to mind.

Occasionally, there’s a very special treat — the maraschino cherry atop the political sundae — that is a re-rebuttal to the original rebuttal. Who can forget Michele Bachmann’s turn as self-anointed spokesnut for the tea party, delivered in its entirety to someone off-camera?

While I understand the SOTU is a sacred tradition, I would suggest that in order to drum up more enthusiasm, they open with “pre-buttals,” rather than tacking the dissent onto the back end. After all, the text of the speech has been released in advance, anyway.

Besides, politics shouldn’t be a matter of getting your dessert only after you’ve eaten your lima beans. The American people already suffer enough under their system of government. They deserve a little mercy.